The initial mentions of Songs Of Ascent are nearing their second anniversary.

I doubt very much that U2 would succumb to pressure of any kind but I for one wish they would go and release ‘Songs Of Ascent’ as soon as is possible.

I think the timing is perfect for such a move now. The tour’s over. The critics have being appeased and they now hold the mantle as the biggest selling artist of all-time.

During their 360 tour, the world rocked to a selection of some of their most loved songs for well over two years. Perhaps now it’s time for a more subdued and meditative U2.

I have a feeling ‘Songs Of Ascent’ is a personal project for U2. It may be that somewhere along the way their project got side-tracked, that maybe it was not deemed commercially viable, that if as the title suspects, it is a ”religious’ offering, it may damage their standing.

U2 have never being ashamed of their spirituality. According to Steven R Harmon, an associate professor of divinity at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama – U2′s latest album No Line on the Horizon is “the most thoroughly Christian thing they’ve done yet”. That may be a factor for putting Songs Of Ascent on the back-burner, that it may be construed as being too similar to No Line On The Horizon in theme. This may be very thing U2 themselves are deliberating on but that being said, I still think there will never be a greater opportunity for U2 to finally put this record out than there is now.

Bono recently made reference to the fact that U2 are currently working on three albums on the band’s official website. Quoting Songs Of Ascent in the process.

“We’re working on three albums at the moment and we haven’t decided what order we’re going to put them out but ‘The Songs Of Ascent’ have the kind of beautiful intimacy that we’re speaking of now”.

Already fans have heard a couple of tracks that were widely cited as being from the Songs Of Ascent record, which were introduced into the band’s set-lists toward the latter end of the 36O Tour, those being “Kingdom of Your Love”, “Every Breaking Wave”, “North Star” and “Mercy”.

If like me, you’d love to see this record see the light of day, then maybe, just maybe, there’s a first and U2 will succumb to pressure.

U2, what are you waiting for?

Bring on Songs Of Ascent!

In an exclusive members only interview conducted for their website U2.com, Bono has revealed that the band are working on three separate albums.

“We’re working on three albums at the moment and we haven’t decided what order we’re going to put them out but ‘The Songs of Ascent’ have the kind of beautiful intimacy that we’re speaking of now.” “They fit into this moment, the mode of some of these artists that I was hanging out with on Christmas Eve.” With Bono alluding to the singers he went busking with on Christmas Eve in Dublin, that consisted of Glen Hansard, Mundy, Declan O’Rourke and Liam O’Maonlai.

Apparantly, after the busking session ended Bono and 10 of his friends headed off to a room somewhere in Dublin and continued singing and passing a guitar back and forth between each other. This type of acoustic session clearly impacted on the U2 front-man and may indicate a new intimate direction for U2′s future album and touring plans.

Bono also added in the interview “I played a couple of songs acoustically but earlier in the year both Edge and I played at the memorial to Steve Jobs and also at the Hollywood Bowl for the Bill Clinton Foundation,” Bono added. “It’s quite something hearing our own songs, like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ or ‘A Man And Woman,’ so stripped down and I think it showed us some clues for the future.”